


Illegal?

by booknerd1234



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Aurors, Blood Quill (Harry Potter), Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Detention, Mild Blood, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:35:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booknerd1234/pseuds/booknerd1234
Summary: Harry Potter is sick and tired of Umbridge and her insults and unfair detentions with that horrid quill. He wants to do something about it, but doesn't know what to do. Fed up and curious, Harry decides to hit the library and see if he can find anything about the quill he'a forced to use. That kind of thing can't be allowed, right? He wasn't planning to tell, he just wants to know more about the quill that makes his hand sting and ache. What happens when he decides not to keep it to himself?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	1. The Planning Starts

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I would like to make it clear that I am in no way trying to take credit from JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. I am just taking her fantastic magical world and putting my own spin on it. She created everything that you recognize as belonging to the world of Harry Potter. Also, I apologize if I get any facts wrong; Feel free to mention it in the comment section so I can correct it if needed. You can put any other comments or ideas in the comments as well. I should probably mention that this is my first fanfiction, so bear with me. The chapters are kinda short, so it might the setup of them may be odd and the lengths inconsistent. I like to think I'm decent at spelling and grammar, but sorry in advance for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy the fic!

Harry scowled to himself as he made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room on Monday evening. Umbridge had kept him writing “I must not tell lies,” with that quill in her office for hours. He told the Fat Lady the password and walked through the mostly empty common room. Sink down into an armchair the shadowed corner of the room and hissing when his smarting hand brushed against the chair, Harry sighed to himself. He was sick of Umbridge’s taunts and unfair detentions; she was worse than Snape in his book, and given how much Snape hates him, she would have to be pretty terrible to be worse than him.  _ “Maybe I should introduce her to my relatives. They could have tea parties and talk about how awful I am _ .  _ Never mind, the results of that could be ugly. They hate wizards and anything to do with me and magic, so I don’t think they would overlook her magic just because she shares their opinion of me. Plus, she probably hates muggles as much as they hate wizards.  _ He was angry and wanted to do something about her, but he didn’t know what. It didn’t help that the ministry hated him right now because if he told anyone, they would call him names and say all kinds of garbage about how he was just trying to get Umbridge and Fudge in trouble. Harry sighed and stared down at the bright red words on his hand as he thought,  _ “This is going to take a lot of thinking and planning. I can’t just yell it out in the great hall or something; that would just make me look bad, especially if people don’t believe me. I can’t be an ‘foolish Gryffindor,’ as Snape would say, about this.” _ He got up and climbed up the stairs to the dormitory to get ready for bed. As he walked through the doorway, he saw that Seamus, Dean, and Neville were sleeping, and Ron was on prefect rounds, so he was careful to be quiet as he gathered his pajamas and made his way to the fifth year boy’s bathroom. Once he had changed carefully as not to accidentally aggravate his hand, he turned the sink on, hesitating before sticking his hand under the cold water. Hissing at the initial pain as the water came fell on his injured hand, he let the water run down his hand until the cool water had soothed the pain some. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he laid down on his bed and closed the thick red curtains. Closing his eyes, he thought about everything that was going on and made a plan on how to deal with it all.  _ I’ll have some information from the library, channel my inner Hermione, _ he thought before he fell asleep. 


	2. Talking to 'Mione

When Harry woke up on Tuesday morning, he was already done with the day. He was exhausted, having been up late in detention and plagued with nightmares during the night. His hand, while no longer stinging fiercely, still ached and throbbed dully. The wound had scabbed over somewhat, he noted before seeing a bit of blood on the sheet.  _ I’ll have to wrap before I go to bed after detention tonight. Hopefully, the cuts will have stopped bleeding before I have to go down to breakfast tomorrow.  _ Groggy and still half asleep, Harry opened his curtains. His roommates were still asleep, so he gathered his uniform and toiletries before heading to the bathroom to take a shower. About fifteen minutes later, a freshly showered Harry walked through the doorway to the dormitory furiously running a towel through his messy, and currently wet, hair. Giving Neville, who was slowly getting out of bed now, a small smile, he checked his schedule before making sure he had everything he needed before he went down to breakfast. Sitting in an empty spot at the Gryffindor table by Hermione, he smiled softly at her in greeting before filling his plate with some eggs, toast, and bacon. 

“Good morning, Harry. How are you today?” Hermione asked her classmate. 

“Morning, ‘Mione. I’m pretty tired since Umbridge had me late last night,” he responded, clenching his fist as he thought about that Umbridge and stupid quill. 

“It was unfair of her to give you detention again. You only asked a question about the text, after all. It was a good question, too.” 

“I know. She’s targeting me and basically anyone who shows signs of believing me. I’m sticking it out, but she’s horrid.” 

“I still think you should tell Dumbledore or McGonagall about your hand, Harry,” she said softly.

“I’ll think about it, Hermione,” he said as he finished the last bit of his eggs. “I’m planning some things out in my head and thinking about several options on what I can do. I don’t think I’ll tell Dumbledore, though. He’s really busy and he hasn’t even looked at me since the end of the tournament.”

“What are you planning, Harry?” she inquired, narrowing her eyes at her friend. “Do you need any help?”

“I think I’m good, but if I need something I will let you know. As for what I’m planning, I can’t tell you for sure yet. It’s a vague plan, and if it works, it would be a nice surprise. And before you ask, it won’t be dangerous or involve break a bunch of rules.”

“Alright,” Hermione sighed, knowing her friend wouldn’t tell her anymore yet. 

They sat at the table, chatting lightly until Ron came in and started his breakfast. Once done, the trio stood up and grabbed their bags before heading to their first class. Harry was sure it would be a long day.


	3. Research Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to research in the library after classes.

After his classes, in which Harry barely managed to keep from screaming at Umbridge when she went on and on about the ministry being able to protect them and not needing to fight because they could just talk down their enemy or wait for aurors to show up and reading from her disgusting Slinkhard book, he thought for a moment before going to the library. Setting his stuff down at a table in the far corner of the library, he went looking for books on magical artefacts, quills, laws, and anything he thought could help him. With a pile of books in his arms, he trudged over to the table, set the pile down, and got out a self-inking quill and some parchment. Sighing, he started skimming through the books and writing down any information he found interesting or thought could be useful. He stopped when he heard the bell ring for dinner, having gotten through the useful parts of a few books. Before reshelving the books, he wrote down the titles of the ones he hadn’t gotten to yet, since he wanted to read through them when he came back during his free period on Wednesday morning. He also noted that he should look to see if he can find a copy of the Hogwarts Charter.  _ There has to be a list of approved consequences for breaking rules, plus I should be able to prove that I didn’t do anything wrong. I know Filch complains enough that he can’t hang us by our toes in his office anymore.  _ He scowled and rubbed his hand.  _ That would probably be less cruel though.  _ After putting everything away and gathering his things, he waved to Madam Pince and left the library, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it was short, but it's easier for me to post many shorter sections instead of longer ones. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Next section should be out soon; I almost have it edited.


	4. Now What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finds a key piece of information and starts to ponder his next actions.

Harry Potter sat before a table covered in dusty texts and notated parchment in the corner of the library on Thursday afternoon. He stared with wide green eyes at the paragraph before him in the book Magical Artefacts and the Law. It stated:

“Blood quills are a Class 2 Dark Object that are highly regulated in Magical Great Britain. Unlike the average quill, the user experiences a mildly painful stinging sensation when used as the quill cuts into the back of the user’s hand. With repeated use in a single time period, the pain may increase and after a while, the cut will cease to heal. Nerve, tissue, and even bone damage can occur as well, which is one reason why the quills are rarely used and never used repeatedly. Blood quills also do not require any ink, as they write with the blood of the user. They can only be used legally in very special circumstances when signing magical contracts for Gringotts or the Ministry. Certain contracts require their use to verify identity to ensure the document is not forged, since the use of blood in the signing of the contracts ensures that one cannot enter another into a contract against their will. The owner of the quill must have a special permit from the ministry to possess said artefact; Without the aforementioned permit, it is illegal to even be in possession of such an artefact.”

 _That makes sense. I would have found it hard to believe if it was completely legal. Since it’s not, maybe there’s something I can do about it._ Harry made sure to mark this information down in his notes along with the book’s title and author before he stood up and walked to put the book back on its shelf. As he was walking back, Madam Pince gave him a sharp look to which he simply responded with a small smile. Chuckling at how overprotective she was of her books, he walked back to the table he had been using. He was more optimistic now that he knew of the exact laws that there were against blood quill usage and he believed he had enough research, if not more than enough. _The only thing to determine now is what to do about this._ He sighed and rubbed his temples. He was going to have to think long and hard about what he should do considering how everyone in the Ministry viewed him. Scowling as he thought about what the prophet had been saying about him, Harry gathered his notes and set them carefully in his bag. As he left the library he thought, _What do I do now?_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in one day! Chapter 5 should be up soon; I haven't written it yet but I have a general idea of how the story is going to play out. Next chapter will probably be Harry's thought process on his planning and what actions he should take.


End file.
